Great question—let’s cut through the confusion here since this is a common point of uncertainty for developers.

First, let’s clarify what the standalone Build Tools are: they’re a lightweight, IDE-free package designed for scenarios where you don’t need the full Visual Studio interface. Think CI/CD servers, build machines, or systems where you only need to compile code without writing or debugging it.

Now, for your specific situation:

• Since you’ve installed all tools in Visual Studio 2019, you already have every component included in the standalone Build Tools. The full VS installation bundles MSBuild, compilers, SDKs, and all the build-related utilities that the standalone package offers. You don’t need to install the standalone version separately—your existing VS setup covers this.
• As for updates: you don’t need to use the standalone Build Tools installer to update these components. Instead, use Visual Studio’s built-in update mechanism (go to Tools > Get Tools and Features) to keep all your VS components (including build tools) up to date. This ensures everything stays in sync, avoiding version mismatches between your IDE and build utilities.

When would you ever need the standalone Build Tools? Only in specific cases like:

• You have a dedicated build server or secondary machine where installing the full VS IDE is overkill
• You need to maintain multiple versions of build tools (e.g., VS 2019 and VS 2022) without installing multiple full VS instances
• Your VS installation is missing specific build components (but you noted you have all tools, so this doesn’t apply here)

Bottom Line #

For your current workflow with a fully equipped VS 2019 installation, you don’t need to install or update the standalone Build Tools. Stick with VS’s native updates, and you’ll have all the build functionality you need already at your fingertips.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者ANURAG